KAA Gent

KAA Gent

Full name	Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent
Nickname	De Buffalo's (The Buffalos) Gantoise
Founded	1864; 162 years ago (1864) (as a gymnastics association) 1900; 126 years ago (1900) (as a football association)
Ground	Planet Group Arena
Capacity	20,175[1]
Chairman	Sam Baro
Sporting Director	Arnar Viðarsson
Head coach	Rik De Mil
League	Belgian Pro League
2024–25	Belgian Pro League, 6th of 16
Website	www.kaagent.be
Home colours Away colours Third colours
Current season

Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈkoːnɪŋkləkə ʔɑtləˈtik ɑsoːˈɕaːsi ˈɣɛnt]; English: Royal Athletic Association Ghent), often simply known as Gent or by their nickname De Buffalo's (English: The Buffalos), is a Belgian professional sports club, based in the city of Ghent, East Flanders. Their football team is the best known section within the club and has been playing in the Belgian First Division A since the 1989–90 season. They won the national league once, in 2014–15, in addition to four Belgian Cup victories. Gent played their home matches in the Jules Ottenstadion in Gentbrugge from 1920 until 2013, when they moved to the Ghelamco Arena. Their team colours are blue and white. The principal sponsor is Baloise, with Hamann International Logistics sponsoring for the UEFA Conference League matches.

The field hockey and track and field divisions were founded in 1864, making it one of the oldest sports clubs in Belgium. The club was then known under its French name La Gantoise (and it is still referred to as such in the French-speaking part of Belgium). They changed their name to the current Dutch version in 1971. The football division opened in 1900. The nickname of the club is De Buffalo's, a term coined after a visit of the original Buffalo Bill and his Wild West circus to the city in the early 20th century.^[2] Their logo features a Native American in profile. The origins of this logo are attributed to the feather headdresses worn by the Indian chiefs who performed with Buffalo Bill, though this logo has garnered some controversy in recent years.^[3][4]

Gent enjoyed its first spell at the highest level in Belgian football between 1913–14 and 1928–29, and a second one from 1936–37 to 1966–67. In the 1970s and 1980s, the club had several promotions and relegations between the first and second divisions, before returning to the highest level in 1989. The club reached the quarter-finals of the 1991–92 UEFA Cup, which is their best achievement ever in European competitions.

Aside from football, Gent also have other sports sections in track and field and field hockey.

History

Formation

In 1864, an association called the 'Société Gymnastique la Gantoise', which was tasked with promoting gymnastics, was founded. Some branches quickly became independent and in 1891 the team merged with the Association Athlétique, which was in itself a merger of younger teams, such as Racing Club, Running Club and Red Star. The new merger team was called Association Athlétique La Gantoise, and aside from gymnastics, the activities were broadened to athletics, boxing, cricket, cycling, fencing, hockey, swimming and tennis. In this context, the athletics team KAA Gent was founded.^[5]

1914 logo of La Gantoise

In the last decade of the 19th century, organized football was introduced in Ghent. Different small teams were founded and some merged into Racing Club Gantois on 1 April 1899, which would later become the biggest challenger of KAA Gent. Only in 1900, a football section was founded by the students of the College of Melle, which is a place close to Ghent. The first president of the team was doctor Hector Priem. The games were played on the Carpentierplein, which was situated at the crossroads of the Kortrijksesteenweg, the Clementinalaan, the Oostendestraat and the Astridlaan. Initially, the colours black and white were chosen, but by 31 October 1900, when the team became an official member, the colours were changed to blue and white. On 15 November 1900, the first regular game was played, against Omnium Sporting Club.

Early 20th Century

For the first few years, the team mostly played in the Belgian Second Division, and later on in the First Division. In 1904 the team moved to the Mussenstraat. In 1913, the World Exposition was held at that place, and the team moved once more, this time to the Albertlaan. Over there, a football pitch, training fields, tennis courts, an athletics court, galleries and other accommodations were being built. At 9 December 1915, during the First World War, the stadium completely burned down. In 1912–13, AA La Gantoise became champion in the Second Division. In 1914, the team received the royal title and was called Association Royale Athlétique La Gantoise, which was abbreviated to ARA La Gantoise. During the world exposition, the team organized several sporting events. The first season in the First League, 1913–14, was nevertheless very difficult for the team and only by means of a test match against Standard Club Liégois, relegation was avoided.^[6]

In 1920, the team moved again, this time to Gentbrugge, where the Jules Ottenstadion was built. La Gantoise fell back to the Second Division and it was not until 1936 it managed to win the promotion play-offs and return to the First Division.^[7] In the mid-fifties, the team played their strongest football yet. In 1953–54 it ended third with an equal total of points as KFC Malinois and only one point behind the champions Anderlecht. The next season, La Gantoise was alone on the second spot, this time with three points less than the champions.^[8] In 1964 it won the Belgian Cup (Beker van België), which was the first major tournament victory for the team. Because of their cup win, it became the first Belgian team to participate in the European Cup Winners' Cup. La Gantoise was defeated in the first round by West Ham United.^[9] In 1967, the club relegated once more, after three decades of playing in the First Division. It did, however, only take them one year to clinch promotion again.^[10]

Late 20th Century

In 1971, the name of the team was translated into Flemish, as it became "Koninklijke Atletiek Associatie Gent" (commonly known as KAA Gent or AA Gent). The 1970–71 season was the start of a bad decade for Gent. They were relegated to the Second Division six games before the season's ending, after the defeat to Club Brugge. In 1974, they even relegated to the Third Division. Gent had ended last and couldn't assure its promotion to the Second Division in the final round.^[11] After one season, they would return to the Second Division and remained there until 1980, when the team returned to the First Division.^[12] The 1980s would become a much better period for the team. In 1984 they won the Belgian Cup again, and during that period the team played in European competitions four times.^[13] In 1986–87, Gent reached the Third round in the UEFA Cup.

During a 2010 game against SV Zulte Waregem

In 1990–91, the team played at the top of the standings for a long time, under the guidance of René Vandereycken and players such as Frank Dauwen, Eric Viscaal and Erwin Vandenbergh, but finally it ended on the third spot. So instead of competing in the UEFA Champions League, the team played in the UEFA Cup in 1991. After defeating Lausanne-Sport, Eintracht Frankfurt and Dynamo Moscow, Gent played the quarter finals against Ajax.^[14] The following years, Gent fell back to the lower places in the standings. From 1994 until 1997, they finished just above the relegation places in the league.^[15] By the end of the 1990s the results improved again, and with coach Trond Sollied, KAA Gent qualified for European football once more in 1999–00.^[16] In these series, Gent lost heavily against Ajax, under new coach Henk Houwaart. The next season, Gent reached the UEFA Intertoto Cup, where they would reach the semi-finals against PSG. The following seasons, league results varied between lower sub-top places and top four finishes.^[17]

2000s

In 2004, Gent signed coach Georges Leekens. In his first season, the team ended at the sixth spot in competition. With Leekens as a coach, KAA Gent made some impressive performances, such as the 4–1 victory over rival Club Brugge on 1 April 2006. In 2006–07, despite a weak start of the competition, the team managed to reach the fourth place in the Belgian Pro League. It repeated that achievement the following year.^[18]

The next season, coach Georges Leekens left the club and joined Lokeren. Trond Sollied, the Norwegian trainer who had been very successful seven years before, succeeded him. Under his guidance, KAA Gent played its third Cup Final, in which it only lost at the end from Anderlecht. Sollied left Gent again after one season, this time for Heerenveen.^[19] Michel Preud'homme, who had just become champion of the Jupiler Pro League with Standard Liège, signed a contract for three seasons, together with his colleagues Manu Ferrera and Stan van den Buys. In 2008–09, the team ended at the fourth spot, after a strong comeback in the second part of the competition, with an equal number of points as Club Brugge, who had won one more game and ended third.^[20]

In 2009–10, there was a heavy battle for second place in the Belgian Pro League between Gent and Club Brugge and the Champions League ticket that came with it. They played each other on 8 May 2010. Gent won by a convincing 6–2 score to earn Champions League football.^[21] One week later, Gent also won the Belgian Cup for the first time in 26 years, defeating the other Bruges Pro League team, Cercle Brugge.^[22]

2010s

On 17 July 2013, the club officially inaugurated their new stadium, the Ghelamco Arena, with a 2–0 win over VfB Stuttgart in a gala match.^[23]

On 21 May 2015, Gent clinched their first Belgium League title by defeating Standard Liège 2–0 at home, automatically qualifying for the group stage of the UEFA Champions League.^[24] Gent were drawn in Group H, against Russian champions Zenit Saint Petersburg, the Spanish team Valencia and the French Lyon. On matchday 1, Gent draw 1–1 with Olympique Lyon at Ghelamco Arena, securing their first point in the Champions League group stages. In matchday 2, they were beaten by Zenit 1–2 at Petrovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia. On matchday 3, they lost again 1–2 against Valencia at Mestalla, Valencia, Spain. On matchday 4, at Ghelamco Arena, Gent defeated Valencia 1–0, after Sven Kums successfully converted a penalty kick in the second half to obtain their first Champions League victory. On matchday 5, at Stade de Gerland, Lyon, France, Gent beat Lyon 2–1 with a dramatic winning goal with the last touch of the match in the 95th minute. On matchday 6, Gent won 2–1 against Zenit, finishing the group in second place and becoming only the second Belgian team to advance to the Champions League knockout phase after Anderlecht in 2000–01. In the round of 16, Gent were drawn against Wolfsburg. In the first leg at Ghelamco Stadium, Gent were defeated 2–3 by Wolfsburg. The second game, this time in Wolfsburg, ended 1–0, ending Gent's European tournament. However, it was the best European season for them.^{[citation needed]}

In the 2016–17 season, Gent played in the Europa League. They faced Tottenham Hotspur, first winning at home in the Ghelamco Arena and then drawing in Wembley, thus advancing on aggregate. Around 8,000 KAA Gent fans attended the match in the away-end, after they were awarded an extra 1,000 tickets for their excellent reputation.^[25][26] In the next round they were defeated by fellow Belgian side KRC Genk.^{[citation needed]}

Rivalries

KAA Gent have a fierce rivalry with Club Brugge, in what is dubbed as the "Battle of Flanders" in the media^[27] as it is between Flanders' two cultural capitals (Antwerp having been historically a part of the Duchy of Brabant). There are also many Club Brugge supporters in the city of Ghent due to internal migration from West Flanders to the city, while KAA Gent pride themselves on their local identity. The nickname that KAA Gent fans give to the Club Brugge fans is the Flemish word "boeren" ("peasants"),^[28] mainly because of the agricultural background of West-Flanders but also because of the insolence that Club Brugge fans have displayed in the past.

Honours

Historical chart of KAA Gent league performance

• Belgian First Division
  • Winners (1): 2014–15
  • Runners-up (3): 1954–55, 2009–10, 2019–20
• Belgian Cup
  • Winner (4): 1963–64, 1983–84, 2009–10, 2021–22
  • Runners-up (2): 2007–08, 2018–19
• Belgian Super Cup
  • Winners (1): 2015
  • Runners-up (3): 1983–84, 2010, 2022
• UEFA Intertoto Cup
  • Runners-up (2): 2006, 2007

European record

Accurate as of 24 August 2022

Competition	Played	Won	Drew	Lost	GF	GA	GD	Win%
UEFA Champions League	13	4	1	8	14	23	−9	030.77
Cup Winners' Cup	4	1	1	2	2	5	−3	025.00
UEFA Cup / UEFA Europa League	81	28	21	32	108	122	−14	034.57
UEFA Europa Conference League	15	8	2	5	19	10	+9	053.33
Total	113	41	25	47	143	160	−17	036.28

Legend: GF = Goals For. GA = Goals Against. GD = Goal Difference.

Matches

Notes

• 1R: First round
• 2R: Second round
• 3R: Third round
• QR: Qualifying round
• 2Q: Second qualifying round
• 3Q: Third qualifying round
• PO: Play-off round
• KPO: Knockout play-offs
• R32: Round of 32
• R16: Round of 16
• QF: Quarter-finals

Season	Competition	Round	Opponent	Home	Away	Aggregate
1964–65	European Cup Winners' Cup	1R	West Ham United	0–1	1–1	1–2
1982–83	UEFA Cup	1R	Haarlem	3–3	1–2	4–5
1983–84	UEFA Cup	1R	Lens	1–1	1–2	2–3
1984–85	European Cup Winners' Cup	1R	Celtic	1–0	0–3	1–3
1986–87	UEFA Cup	1R	Jeunesse Esch	1–1	2–1	3–2
		2R	Sportul Studențesc	3–0	1–1	4–1
		3R	IFK Göteborg	0–1	0–4	0–5
1991–92	UEFA Cup	1R	Lausanne-Sport	0–1	1–0 (a.e.t.)	1–1 (4–1 p)
		2R	Eintracht Frankfurt	0–0	1–0	1–0
		3R	Dynamo Moscow	2–0	0–0	2–0
		QF	Ajax	0–0	0–3	0–3
2000–01	UEFA Cup	QR	ÍA Akranes	3–2	3–0	6–2
		1R	Ajax	0–6	0–3	0–9
2008–09	UEFA Cup	2Q	Kalmar	2–1	0–4	2–5
2009–10	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Naftan Novopolotsk	1–0	1–2	2–2 (a)
		3Q	Roma	1–7	1–3	2–10
2010–11	UEFA Champions League	3Q	Dynamo Kyiv	1–3	0–3	1–6
	UEFA Europa League	PO	Feyenoord	2–0	0–1	2–1
		Group C	Sporting CP	3–1	1–5	3rd
			Lille	1–1	0–3
			Levski Sofia	1–0	2–3
2012–13	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Differdange	3–2	1–0	4–2
		3Q	Videoton	0–3	0–1	0–4
2015–16	UEFA Champions League	Group H	Lyon	1–1	2–1	2nd
			Zenit Saint Petersburg	2–1	1–2
			Valencia	1–0	1–2
		R16	VfL Wolfsburg	2–3	0–1	2–4
2016–17	UEFA Europa League	3Q	Viitorul Constanța	5–0	0–0	5–0
		PO	Shkëndija	2–1	4–0	6–1
		Group H	Shakhtar Donetsk	3–5	0–5	2nd
			Braga	2–2	1–1
			Konyaspor	2–0	1–0
		R32	Tottenham Hotspur	1–0	2–2	3–2
		R16	Genk	2–5	1–1	3–6
2017–18	UEFA Europa League	3Q	Rheindorf Altach	1–1	1–3	2–4
2018–19	UEFA Europa League	3Q	Jagiellonia Białystok	3–1	1–0	4–1
		PO	Bordeaux	0–0	0–2	0–2
2019–20	UEFA Europa League	2Q	Viitorul Constanța	6–3	1–2	7–5
		3Q	AEK Larnaca	3–0	1–1	4–1
		PO	Rijeka	2–1	1–1	3–2
		Group I	VfL Wolfsburg	2–2	3–1	1st
			Saint-Étienne	3–2	0–0
			Oleksandriya	2–1	1–1
		R32	Roma	1–1	0–1	1–2
2020–21	UEFA Champions League	3Q	Rapid Wien	2–1	—N/a	—N/a
		PO	Dynamo Kyiv	1–2	0–3	1–5
	UEFA Europa League	Group L	1899 Hoffenheim	1–4	1–4	4th
			Red Star Belgrade	0–2	1–2
			Slovan Liberec	1–2	0–1
2021–22	UEFA Europa Conference League	2Q	Vålerenga	4–0	0–2	4−2
		3Q	RFS	2–2	1–0	3–2
		PO	Raków Częstochowa	3–0	0–1	3–1
		Group B	Partizan	1–1	1–0	1st
			Flora	1–0	1–0
			Anorthosis Famagusta	2–0	0–1
		R16	PAOK	1–2	0–1	1–3
2022–23	UEFA Europa League	PO	Omonia	0–2	0–2	0–4
	UEFA Europa Conference League	Group F	Molde	4–0	0–0	2nd
			Shamrock Rovers	3–0	1–1
			Djurgårdens IF	0–1	2–4
		KPO	Qarabağ	1–0 (a.e.t.)	0–1	1–1 (5–3 p)
		R16	İstanbul Başakşehir	1–1	4–1	5–2
		QF	West Ham United	1–1	1–4	2–5
2023–24	UEFA Europa Conference League	2Q	Žilina	5–1	5–2	10–3
		3Q	Pogoń Szczecin	5–0	1–2	6–2
		PO	APOEL	2–0	2–1	4–1
		GS	Zorya Luhansk	4–1	1–1	2nd
			Maccabi Tel Aviv	2–0	1–3
			Breiðablik	5–0	3–2
		KPO	Maccabi Haifa	1–1	0–1	1–2
2024–25	UEFA Conference League	2Q	Víkingur	4–1	3–0	7–1
		3Q	Silkeborg	2–2	3–2 (a.e.t.)	5–4
		PO	Partizan	1–0	1–0	2–0
		League phase	Chelsea	—N/a	2–4	17th
			Molde	2–1	—N/a
			Omonia	1–0	—N/a
			Lugano	—N/a	0–2
			TSC	3–0	—N/a
			Larne	—N/a	0–1
		KPO	Real Betis	0–3	1–0	1–3

Players

Current squad

As of 16 January 2026^[29]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 2 DF  CMR Samuel Kotto 3 DF  EST Maksim Paskotši 7 FW  CIV Wilfried Kanga 8 FW  POL Michał Skóraś 10 MF  NED Aimé Omgba 11 FW  SWE Momodou Sonko 13 DF  SRB Stefan Mitrović 15 MF  JPN Atsuki Itō 17 MF  BEL Mathias Delorge 18 MF  BEL Matisse Samoise 20 DF  POR Tiago Araújo 21 FW  ENG Max Dean 22 MF  POR Leonardo Lopes 23 GK  BEL Tom Vandenberghe

No. Pos. Nation Player 25 DF  MAR Hatim Essaouabi 26 DF  BEL Bram Lagae 27 MF  BEL Tibe De Vlieger 28 MF  BEL Mohammed El Âdfaoui 29 DF  HAI Jean-Kévin Duverne (on loan from Nantes) 30 GK  BEL Kjell Peersman 33 GK  BEL Davy Roef (captain) 35 DF  BEL Gilles De Meyer 37 MF  ALG Abdelkahar Kadri 44 DF  BEL Siebe Van der Heyden 45 FW  CIV Hyllarion Goore 57 DF  BEL Matties Volckaert — MF  KOR Hong Hyun-seok (on loan from Mainz 05)

Out on loan

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player — DF  ANG Núrio Fortuna (at Volos until 30 June 2026) — DF  CTA Hugo Gambor (at Troyes until 30 June 2026) — MF  BEL Pieter Gerkens (at Cercle Brugge until 30 June 2026) — FW  JPN Daisuke Yokota (at Hannover 96 until 30 June 2026) — FW  BEL Dante Vanzeir (at Cercle Brugge until 30 June 2026)

Jong KAA Gent

As of 21 October 2025^[30]

Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.

No. Pos. Nation Player 27 MF  BEL Tibe De Vlieger 35 DF  BEL Gilles De Meyer 38 DF  GUI Mohamed Soumah 39 DF  BFA Abdoul Ayinde 50 GK  BEL René Vanden Borre 51 GK  BEL Victor De Coninck 52 GK  BEL Ferre Van Herrewege 54 DF  BEL Hannes Vernemmen 56 DF  SEN Mamadou Diallo 58 MF  BEL Joachim Djamba-Shango 59 FW  SEN El Hadji Seck 60 FW  BEL Simon Buggea 61 FW  NGA Abubakar Abdullahi 62 MF  BEL Wout Asselman

No. Pos. Nation Player 65 DF  BEL Briek Morel 66 MF  ISL Viktor Vidarsson 67 MF  UKR Oleksandr Soroka 70 MF  BEL Jassim Mazouz 71 DF  BEL Preben Blondeel 72 MF  BEL Alexandre Chaidron 73 FW  BEL Ali Donny Sylla 74 DF  BEL Trey Kongolo 77 MF  BEL Gyano Vanderdonck 78 FW  BEL David Mukuna-Trouet 79 FW  UKR Ruslan Vydysh 80 MF  BEL Briek Van Hoorick — FW  SEN Ibrahima Cissé

Technical staff & management

Name	Position
Rik De Mil	Head Coach
Timothy Derijck	Assistant Coach
Bart van Tornhout	Goalkeeper Coach
Stijn Matthys	Head of Performance
Frank Wezenbeek	Physiotherapist
Gunther Schepens	Technical coordinator
Sam Baro	Chairman
Arnar Viðarsson	Manager Sports
Sébastien Ronse	Manager Non-sports
Manu Ferrera	Youth director
Gilbert De Groote	Scouting director
Patrick Lips	Commercial director
Luc Adriaensens	Financial Director
Dirk Piens	Organisational Director & Safety Officer
Wim Beelaert	Community manager
Xavier Louwagie	Communication Manager
Marc Van Lysebetten	Press Officer

Well-known former players of the team

Six players of AA Gent held top scorer positions in the UEFA: Maurice Willems (1956–57, 28 games, 35 goals), Ronny Martens (1984–85, 34 games, 23 goals), Erwin Vandenbergh (1990–91, 34 games, 23 goals) and Ole Martin Arst (1999–00, 33 games, 30 goals), Jonathan David (2019–20, 29 games, 18 goals), Hugo Cuypers (2022–23, 39 games, 27 goals).

The Belgian player Roland Storme, central defender of KAA Gent in 1958–59, received the Golden Shoe award. Three other AA Gent players were presented with awards and honors: René Vandereycken got the award for trainer of the year 1991. Frédéric Herpoel was chosen as the best goalkeeper in 2004.

Mbark Boussoufa received multiple awards and honors including: pro-player of the year, best young player and the award of the 12th man, as well as the Ebony Shoe. Another AA Gent player, the Egyptian Ahmed "Mido" Hossam was also presented with the Ebony Shoe 8 years earlier in 2001.

Maurice Willems has scored more goals than any other KAA Gent player, with 185 goals between 1952 and 1962.

Armand Seghers holds the record of the most games played in the first team of KAA Gent: 507 between 1949 and 1960.

Marc Van Der Linden was in the national selection of Belgium for the 1990 World Cup in Italy.

Richard Orlans holds the most selections for the Belgium National Team, more than any other KAA Gent player. He was selected 21 times from 1955 – 1958.

Frédéric Herpoel was four times honoured with the Jean-Claude Bouvy Trophy for "most valuable player of the season" between 2002 – 2005.

Tore André Dahlum was a Norwegian international who played one year for Gent.

Congolese player Leon Mokuna was the first African player in Belgian competition, in 1957. Compatriot Pierre Mwana Kasongo would join the club in 1965 and Kiyika Tokodi would do so in 1980.

Jean-Claude Bouvy Trophy

The Jean-Claude Bouvy Trophy is an award that is annually handed out to the most valuable player of Belgian football club K.A.A. Gent. It was established in 1979 and later named after Jean-Claude Bouvy, a player of Gent who died in a car crash in 1986.^[31]

Winners

Season	Player	Nationality
1978–79	Filip Benoot	Belgium
1979–80	Roger Coenye
1980–81	Luc Criel
1981–82	André Laurijssen
1982–83	Søren Busk	Denmark
1983–84	No trophy awarded
1984–85	Ronny Martens	Belgium
1985–86	Michel De Wolf
1986–87
1987–88	André Laurijssen
1988–89	Augustine Eguavoen	Nigeria
1989–90	Henri Balenga	DR Congo
1990–91	Erwin Vandenbergh	Belgium
1991–92	Eric Viscaal	Netherlands
1992–93	Zsolt Petry	Hungary
1993–94	Tony Herreman	Belgium
1994–95	Suvad Katana	Bosnia-Herzegovina
1995–96
1996–97	Tony Herreman	Belgium
1997–98	Stijn Vreven
1998–99	Pieter Collen
1999–00	Eric Joly	France
2000–01	Geri Çipi	Albania
2001–02	Frédéric Herpoel	Belgium
2002–03
2003–04
2004–05
2005–06	Mbark Boussoufa	Morocco
2006–07	Adékambi Olufadé	Togo
2007–08	Bryan Ruiz	Costa Rica
2008–09
2009–10	Bojan Jorgačević	Serbia
2010–11
2011–12	Bernd Thijs	Belgium
2012–13	Hannes Van der Bruggen
2013–14	Christophe Lepoint
2014–15	Laurent Depoitre
2015–16	Nana Asare	Ghana
2016–17	Lovre Kalinić	Croatia
2017–18	Samuel Gigot	France
2018–19	Dylan Bronn	Tunisia
2019–20	Jonathan David	Canada
2020–21	Alessio Castro-Montes	Belgium
2021–22	Tarik Tissoudali	Morocco
2022–23	Hugo Cuypers	Belgium
2022–23	Julien De Sart
2024–25	Tsuyoshi Watanabe	Japan

Coaching history

• Hector Priem (1901–09)
• Van Steenkiste (1909–10)
• Horta (1910–12)
• Bunyan (1912–22)
• De Rijke (1922–31)
• Staff Pelsmaecker (1931–41)
• Hugo Fenichel [fr; ru] (1941–42)
• Willibald Stejskal (1942–43)
• Fons Ferchyér (1943–45)
• Edmond Delfour (1945–51)
• Karl Mütsch (1951–52)
• Jules Vandooren (1952–56)
• Edmond Delfour (1956–59)
• Jacques Favre (1959–60)
• Louis Verstraeten (1960–64)
• Max Schirschin (1964–65)
• Julien Labeau (1965–66)
• Jules Bigot (1966–67)
• Jules Vandooren (1967–71)
• István Sztani (1971–73)
• Omer Van Boxelaer (1973–74)
• Richard Orlans (1974–76)
• Freddy Qvick (1976)
• Roland Storme (1976 –77)
• Norberto Höfling (1977–78)
• Léon Nollet [fr; nl; es] (1978 – September 80)
• Han Grijzenhout (1980–81)
• Robert Goethals (1981 – January 83)
• Erwin Vanden Daele (1983 – November 83)
• Han Grijzenhout (1984 – December 86)
• Gérard Bergholtz (1987)
• Ab Fafié (1987 – April 88)
• Erwin Vandendaele (1988–89)
• René Vandereycken (31 March 1989 – 28 February 1993)
• Hans Dorjee (1993)
• Walter Meeuws (1 July 1993 – 30 June 1994)
• Lei Clijsters (1994–96)
• Johan Boskamp (30 November 1996 – 30 September 1998)
• Herman Vermeulen (interim) (1998 – December 98)
• Trond Sollied (1 January 1999 – 30 June 2000)
• Henk Houwaart (1 July 2000 – 30 September 2000)
• Patrick Rémy (1 July 2000 – 30 June 2002)
• Herman Vermeulen (interim) (2001–02)
• Jan Olde Riekerink (1 July 2002 – 3 November 2003)
• H. Vermeulen (interim) (5 November 2003 – 17 May 2004)
• Georges Leekens (18 May 2004 – 30 June 2007)
• Trond Sollied (1 July 2007 – 30 June 2008)
• Michel Preud'homme (1 July 2008 – 30 June 2010)
• Francky Dury (1 July 2010 – 30 June 2011)
• Trond Sollied (1 July 2011 – 23 October 2012)
• Manu Ferrera (interim) (23 October 2012 – 1 November 2012)
• Bob Peeters (1 November 2012 – 3 January 2013)
• Manu Ferrera (interim) (January 2013)
• Víctor Fernández (9 January 2013 – 30 September 2013)
• Mircea Rednic (1 October 2013 – 9 April 2014)
• Peter Balette (interim) (9 April 2014 – 1 July 2014)
• Hein Vanhaezebrouck (2014 – 27 September 2017)
• Yves Vanderhaeghe (October 2017 – 9 October 2018)
• Jess Thorup (10 October 2018 – 20 August 2020)
• László Bölöni (20 August 2020 – 14 September 2020)
• Wim De Decker (14 September 2020 – 4 December 2020)
• Hein Vanhaezebrouck (4 December 2020 – 25 May 2024)
• Wouter Vrancken (4 June 2024 – 21 January 2025)
• Danijel Milićević (21 January 2025 – 27 May 2025)
• Ivan Leko (4 June 2025 – present)

^[32]

Presidents

Years	President
1901	Hector Priem
1902–08	Adolphe Dangotte
1908–12	Adolf Gaeremijnck
1912	Hector Priem
1912–13	Jacques Feyerick
1913–29	Pierre Van Bleyenberghe
1929–39	Adrien Stassart
1939–64	Achiel Delongie
1964–67	René Hoste
1967–76	Freddy Mastelinck
1976–85	Albert De Meester
1985–88	Robert Naudts
1988–99	Jean Van Milders
1999–2023	Ivan De Witte
2023–	Sam Baro

Kit suppliers and shirt sponsors

Period	Kit supplier	Shirt sponsor (chest)
1977–1980		Beton-Wegenbouw Gent
1980–1984	Le Coq Sportif
1984–1986		Bellewaerde Park
1986–1988		Maes-Pils
1988–1996	adidas	vdk bank
1996–2004	Umbro
2004–2007	Nike
2007–2013	Jako
2013–2015	Masita
2015–2018	Jartazi
2018–2023	Craft
2023–		Baloise

References

1. De Ghelamco Arena Archived 27 June 2016 at the Wayback Machine kaagent.be (last check 30 March 2018)
2. "KAA Gent and Their Unusual Nickname". 18 February 2016.
3. "Logo". KA Gent. Archived from the original on 28 August 2020. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
4. Rhodin, Alexander (7 May 2018). "Native American Mascots Live On in Europe". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 May 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2024.
5. Rombaut, Heli (2009). "Chapter 1: The Pioneers". De Buffalo-bijbel [The Buffalo Bible] (in Dutch). Heli Rombaut. pp. 10–25. ISBN 978-90-9024650-5.
6. "Een stukje clubgeschiedenis" [A little piece of the club's history] (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
7. "Een stukje clubgeschiedenis" [A little piece of the club's history] (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
8. Rombaut, Heli (1998). "Chapter 2: The end of the golden years". Bruilofstraat 42 (in Dutch). p. 14.
9. Rombaut, Heli (1998). "Chapter 3: To fall and rise with youthful talent". Bruilofstraat 42 (in Dutch). pp. 21–31.
10. Rombaut, Heli (1998). "Chapter 4: Shot at title ends in... second division". Bruilofstraat 42 (in Dutch). pp. 38–49.
11. Rombaut, Heli (1998). "Chapter 6: Travel to Hell". Bruilofstraat 42 (in Dutch). pp. 73–88.
12. Rombaut, Heli (1998). "Chapter 8: After Hell and Purgatory... finally Heaven!". Bruilofstraat 42 (in Dutch). pp. 117–139.
13. Rombaut, Heli (1998). "Chapter 9: Three phenomenal seasons". Bruilofstraat 42 (in Dutch). pp. 140–171.
14. Rombaut, Heli (2009). "Chapter 8: The Vandereycken boys". De Buffalo-bijbel [The Buffalo Bible] (in Dutch). Heli Rombaut. pp. 148–171. ISBN 978-90-9024650-5.
15. Rombaut, Heli (1998). "Chapter 13: The demise of a rich football tradition". Bruilofstraat 42 (in Dutch). pp. 235–253.
16. Rombaut, Heli (2009). "Chapter 10: About bombers and rubble removal". De Buffalo-bijbel [The Buffalo Bible] (in Dutch). Heli Rombaut. pp. 186–209. ISBN 978-90-9024650-5.
17. Rombaut, Heli (2009). "Chapter 11: The transition years". De Buffalo-bijbel [The Buffalo Bible] (in Dutch). Heli Rombaut. pp. 210–229. ISBN 978-90-9024650-5.
18. Rombaut, Heli (2009). "Chapter 12: Georges Leekens". De Buffalo-bijbel [The Buffalo Bible] (in Dutch). Heli Rombaut. pp. 230–251. ISBN 978-90-9024650-5.
19. Rombaut, Heli (2009). "Chapter 8: Trond Sollied is back in town!". De Buffalo-bijbel [The Buffalo Bible] (in Dutch). Heli Rombaut. pp. 252–267. ISBN 978-90-9024650-5.
20. Rombaut, Heli (2009). "Chapter 8: Michel Preud'homme: a worthy ambassador of the club". De Buffalo-bijbel [The Buffalo Bible] (in Dutch). Heli Rombaut. pp. 269–272. ISBN 978-90-9024650-5.
21. "KAA Gent 6–2 Club Bruges: match report". Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
22. "Cercle Bruges 0–3 KAA Gent: match report". Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
23. "KAA Gent opent Ghelamco Arena met zege tegen Stuttgart" [KAA Gent opens Ghelamco Arena with victory against Stuttgart] (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 26 July 2014. Retrieved 16 July 2014.
24. "Champions League 2015–16: team by team guide to the group stage". Guardian. 12 September 2015. Retrieved 17 September 2015.
25. "Wembley: 1000 extra tickets dankzij topreputatie supporters! | KAA Gent Website". KAA Gent (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 February 2023.
26. "Ook de Spurs-Belgen waren donderdag onder de indruk van het Gentse legioen: "Ze maakten er een fantastische sfeer van"". Voetbalkrant.com (in Dutch). 25 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2023.
27. "Bewogen Slag om Vlaanderen blijft onbeslist: Club Brugge en AA Gent schieten weinig op met punt". Het Nieuwsblad (in Flemish). 3 February 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
28. "Radio 2 Mysteries: Waarom worden de supporters van Club Brugge boeren genoemd?". radio2 (in Dutch). Retrieved 22 February 2023.
29. "KAA Gent (team)". K.A.A. Gent. 2017. Retrieved 9 August 2025.
30. "Jong KAA Gent spelers". KAA Gent. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
31. "Trofee Jean-Claude Bouvy" [Jean-Claude Bouvy Trophy] (in Dutch). Retrieved 12 October 2015.
32. "Beknopte geschiedenis van KAA Gent". Archived from the original on 9 July 2007. Retrieved 1 August 2007.

External links

• Official website (in Dutch)
• KAA Gent at the Wayback Machine (archived 22 October 2005)
• KAA Gent at the Wayback Machine (archived 13 February 2010) (in German)
• KAA Gent at Weltfussball.de (in German)
• KAA Gent at FootballSquads.com
• KAA Gent at National-Football-Teams.com
• KAA Gent at Football-Lineups.com